BMW M3

This almost never happens: Two cars in the same test with exactly the same slalom performance. Especially when it's two cars so different in feel as the M3 and Z06. Where the BMW is light and nimble, the Vette seems as heavy, wide, and as intimidating as a NASCAR racer. Climb out of the Boxster and into the Z06, and it'll take you two runs to not feel like the Vette's wearing a big fiberglass overcoat. Once you're acclimated, however, the Z06 flat romps, with instant-response steering and gobs of power oversteer/opposite lock style that make you work to keep it in balance and record a fast time. Low slip angles work best on this beast. Do it right and you're at an M3-equaling 68.99 mph.

The skidpad often brings out a different side of a car's personality, and here the Porsche suffered a bit from understeer. This was easily remedied by a touch of throttle-induced oversteer, as the mid-engine layout allowed this transformation without much drama or effort. Minimal body roll helped it achieve 0.94 g of grip.

Strangely, for a car that places such a high priority on handling, this proved to not be the M3's favorite sport. Clearly, BMW's engineers tuned its suspension for real-world handling and safety and not to drive around a friction circle, as a substantial amount of understeer (and none too quick lap times) called on the driver's skill to walk the rear end out a bit to achieve a more neutral cornering attitude. Fortunately, the well-balanced chassis allows this to occur without pitching you bass-ackward off the track, but get your best number (0.89 g) soon, because the grip of our car's Michelin Pilot Sport tires went away after just two laps.

We were waiting for a performance test the Vette couldn't win and thought perhaps this would be it. We were wrong. On the first lap or two of the pad, it'll feel necessary to goose the rear out to overcome what seems to be speed-robbing understeer. Well, try it all you want, but low slip angles are what this car's tires like best. In fact, our best performance (a full 1.00 g!) was achieved by just driving it like a normal person.

Road CourseFirst up on the challenging circuit was the Boxster S. With its mid-engine platform and slightly rear-biased (46/54 percent) weight distribution, this two-seat ragtop is built to handle. To aid structural integrity, we always test convertibles with the top up (even though we may photograph them in action sans roof), and the Boxster's lid never elicited one squeak or rattle during all the high-g cornering. On the road course, this car's super-willing engine and excellent gearing make up somewhat for its lack of all-out muscle compared to the Vette and M3, while its mid-engine balance simply cannot be matched by the others. Combining a featherlight feel with slot-car-like handling, quick and accurate steering, perfect gearing, and unflappable braking, it's the most agile of the group (especially during surprise surface elevation/camber changes such as on the backside of the tricky hill). Virtually faultless, the lovely Boxster S just needs another 50 hp to be really competitive in acceleration, as its best lap time of 1:01.62 attests.